Tag Archives: Rahm Emanuel

Below are the shooting numbers for this past weekend. Expect the final tally to go up by Monday morning. It always goes up.

From MyFoxChicago: Nine people have been shot dead and at least 27 others wounded in Chicago since Friday evening.

Four of the murder victims were shot on Friday night in the Brighton Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side. In that attack, three men and one woman were shot dead in a car. The woman was pregnant. Chicago police said that shooting was gang related and that three of the victims were gang members.

The website “HeyJackass.com,” which tracks violence in Chicago, said that on average, a person is shot about every 2 hours and 18 minutes in the city. On average, two people are murdered every day.

So far this year, more than 500 people have been murdered in Chicago. The vast majority of the killers used a gun.

The death of Kate Steinle meant nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, to demorats in California.

I cannot express here, within our guidelines, how outraged I am with the so-called lawmakers of that state.

From Fox News: Lawmakers in California on Saturday passed “sanctuary state” legislation even as President Trump and his administration have vowed to crack down on jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration agents.

The bill approved early Saturday limits police cooperation with federal immigration authorities and is intended to bolster protections for illegal immigrants in the state.

But the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday warned of “tragic consequences,” saying the policy “will make California communities less safe.”

“By passing this bill, California politicians have chosen to prioritize politics over public safety,” Thomas Homan, the acting director of ICE, said in a statement. “Disturbingly, the legislation serves to codify a dangerous policy that deliberately obstructs our country’s immigration laws and shelters serious criminal alien offenders.”

Homan said ICE wants to work with local law enforcement to prevent “dangerous criminal aliens” from being released back onto the streets.

The legislation will now be considered by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who announced his support after the top state Senate leader agreed to water down the bill and preserve authority for jail and prison officials to cooperate with immigration officers in many cases.

The bill that passed Saturday prohibits law enforcement officials from asking about a person’s immigration status or participating in immigration enforcement efforts. It also prohibits law enforcement officials from being deputized as immigration agents or arresting people on civil immigration warrants.

The legislation follows Trump’s vow to crack down on sanctuary cities. Such policies limit just how much local law enforcement officials cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

The debate about sanctuary cities intensified in July 2015 when Katie Steinle, 32, was killed as she strolled along the San Francisco waterfront with her father. Steinle was fatally shot by a illegal alien with a criminal record who had slipped into the U.S. multiple times illegally.

On Friday, a federal judge in Chicago has ruled Attorney General Jeff Sessions can’t withhold public grant money from so-called sanctuary cities for refusing to follow federal immigration policies.

The ruling means the Justice Department cannot deny grant money requests until Chicago’s lawsuit against the agency is concluded. Leinenweber wrote that Chicago has shown a “likelihood of success” in its arguments that Sessions overstepped his authority with the requirements.

The city of Chicago sued the Trump administration in August after it threatened to withhold funds from sanctuary cities, and refused to comply with the Justice Department’s demand that it allow immigration agents access to local jails and notify agents when someone in the U.S. is about to be released from custody.

At least seven cities and counties, including Seattle and San Francisco, have refused to cooperate with new federal rules regarding sanctuary cities.

From MyFoxChicago: Four men were killed and at least 26 other people were wounded in shootings across Chicago between late Friday and Monday morning of the city’s Labor Day weekend.

The four deaths were the latest casualties of Chicago’s gun violence that has taken the lives of at least 435 people since the start of the year, according to data maintained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

The holiday weekend’s latest killing happened about 10:40 p.m. Sunday when 26-year-old Felipe Batista Jr. was killed and another man was wounded in a Belmont Central neighborhood shooting on the Northwest Side, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Batista and the 29-year-old man were standing on the sidewalk in the 5900 block of West Belden when another male walked up and opened fire. Batista, who lived a block away, was shot in the torso and pronounced dead at the scene. The other man was shot in the abdomen and taken in critical condition to Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

About two hours earlier, 20-year-old Jeremy Tang was found shot in the Washington Heights neighborhood on the Far South Side, authorities said. Tang, who lived in the Beverly neighborhood, was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest about 8:40 p.m. in the driver’s side of a vehicle in the 800 block of West 102nd Street. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died.

At 5:02 a.m. Saturday, another man was found shot to death in the West Side Austin neighborhood, authorities said. He was found lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head in the 1000 block of North Waller. The man, whose age was unknown, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner’s office has not released his name, pending notification of his family.

The number wounded went up to 42 hours after I scheduled this post. Don’t be surprised if it’s gone up by Monday morning.

From MyFoxChicago: CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) – Seven people were killed and at least 38 others have been wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening.

Seven people were shot, one fatally, during a single mass shooting incident about 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side.

The group was in the parking lot of a banquet hall in the 11900 block of South Loomis when a male in a black SUV opened fire, according to Chicago Police. The SUV then sped away.

A male, whose age was not known, was shot and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A 30-year-old man was shot in the left leg; a 31-year-old woman was shot in the left leg; a 32-year-old woman was shot in the right leg; a 32-year-old man was shot in the abdomen; a 33-year-old woman was shot in the left leg; and a 36-year-old man was shot in the buttocks.

Three people were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, while two others were taken to Stroger Hospital, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. They were all listed in serious-to-critical condition. A seventh person was shot and taken to MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, Langford said. That person was in fair-to-serious condition.

About 5:10 a.m. Sunday, a 30-year-old man was gunned down in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. He was in a vehicle, stopped at a stop light in the 3800 block of South Archer when another vehicle approached and someone inside fired multiple shots, police said. The man suffered gunshot wounds to the head, neck and arm and subsequently crashed his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 32-year-old man was killed and two other people were wounded in a shooting about 4:30 a.m. in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the North Side. They were standing on the sidewalk in the 7700 block of North Ashland when someone in a Ford SUV fired shots in their direction. The man was shot in the neck and taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was pronounced dead, police said. A 23-year-old man was shot in the left hip and a 23-year-old woman also suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. They were both also taken to Saint Francis, where their conditions were stabilized.

About 2 a.m., a 22-year-old man was shot to death in the University Village neighborhood on the Near West Side. He was standing outside in the 1000 block of West Maxwell when a vehicle drove up, two people jumped out and opened fire, police said. The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

At least 27 other people have been wounded in citywide shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Additionally, a person was shot by a Chicago Police officer about 8:45 p.m. Saturday in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The male suspect suffered a graze wound to the neck and was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening.

Last weekend, nine people were killed and at least 30 others were wounded in shootings across Chicago between Friday night and Monday morning.

Mayor Rahm Emanual wants to harbor these illegal aliens and is suing the federal government for monies to do so. Good luck with that strategy demorats!

From MyFoxChicago: A man who has been deported from the United States twice was indicted last week for six robberies in Chicago and several suburbs since December.

Jose Cruz Morales-Cortes, 45, was indicted on six counts of robbery on Aug. 1, according to a statement from the FBI.

Morales-Cortes, of Gary, Indiana, was deported for being in the country illegally on March 26, 2004 and again on Aug. 29, 2016, the FBI said. He was caught in the country again on Jan 20, 2017, and was in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when he was indicted for the robberies.

According to the indictment, Morales-Cortes is accused of robberies on the following dates at the following businesses:

Gun-controlled Chiraq is on pace for another banner year. According to heyjackass.com, there have been 1,799 people shot and wounded, 380 people shot and killed, and 412 homicides (which has some stats that differ from the Chicago Sun-Times, as you’ll see below).

As of early Sunday afternoon, there were 24 people shot in the city over the weekend and a four-year-old boy was one of the victims.

From MyFoxChicago: A 4-year-old boy and an 89-year-old man were among 24 people shot across the city from Friday evening to Sunday morning, a period which also saw two homicides.

The most recent deaths were the latest of 375 people fatally shot in the city this year, according to data maintained by the Chicago Sun-Times. In all, more than 2,145 people have been shot since the start of the year.

About 5:15 p.m. Friday, the 4-year-old was in the Austin neighborhood’s 5200 block of West Kamerling with 28-year-old Nikia Betts and a 19-year-old man when gunfire erupted, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Betts, who lived in the same neighborhood, was shot in the head and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she died at 5:54 p.m., authorities said. The boy and man were both shot in the arm and taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital.

The weekend’s other fatal happened about 10:45 p.m. Friday in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Eugene Winters, 18, was shot in the head while standing with two other people in the 2500 block of West Lithuanian Plaza Court, authorities said. He died at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn about 45 minutes later.

Additionally, a 33-year-old woman grazed in the head was taken to the same hospital in serious condition, along with a 34-year-old man shot multiple times in the left shoulder. His condition was stabilized, police said.

The 89-year-old man was sitting in front of a Lawndale business about 6:30 p.m. Friday in the 4200 block of West Cermak when a shooter in a gray van opened fire at another person outside who ran away, police said.

A bullet grazed the elderly man’s arm, and he declined to be taken to a hospital. Later, a 32-year-old man hurt in the same shooting showed up at Mount Sinai with a foot wound.

The most recent nonfatal shooting happened shortly before 5:30 a.m. in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side. A 42-year-old man told investigators he was in the 6200 block of South Indiana when someone shot him in the right elbow, then ran away, police said. The man later showed up at St. Bernard Hospital, where he was listed in good condition.

At least 15 more people were wounded in Chicago shootings between 9 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Sunday.

From France 24: Her hands slowed by rheumatoid arthritis, 71-year-old Marietta Crowder stands in front of her paper target, steadies her gun and pulls the trigger. Shots are fired in quick succession.

Crowder is perhaps not the typical patron of a gun club. But she is one of seven women learning to safely handle firearms at a shooting range in a suburb of Chicago, a city wracked by gun violence and a soaring murder rate.

“My husband influenced me and we thought about it a long time. Maybe you need a gun these days, in your house at least,” said Crowder, who lives in a gated community with her retired banker husband.

A fellow retiree, Javondlynn Dunagan, came up with the idea of gun training classes geared toward women, and for the “Ladies of Steel” gun club — after successful training, the women gather twice a month to practice their skills.

Dunagan served as a parole officer for 25 years before finishing her career in January, but had rarely held a gun when dealing with convicts. She said she started carrying one after divorcing her police officer husband. “I was at home by myself with my daughter, and I was used to having a firearm in a home with my ex-husband,” she explained. “So, I wanted to make sure that we were safe.”

But Dunagan noticed something curious when she visited gun ranges around Chicago to practice. “I noticed that I never saw two women at the range together or a group of ladies,” she recounted.

Dunagan was particularly struck by the lack of African-American women like herself interested in learning how to use firearms. “I started asking friends and they said, ‘Yeah, I’m scared of guns.'”

That answer prompted her to start JMD Defense & Investigations, offering gun training programs geared towards women. The “investigations” side of the business will debut next year.

Dunagan also offers classes such as the “Mommy & Me Self-Defense Class,” where women can bring their daughters, ages 8-18 years, to learn hand-to-hand combat. “That came about because my daughter was going to college four years ago and she couldn’t find a self-defense class on the south side of Chicago,” Dunagan said.

Her clients are from the predominantly African-American communities in Chicago’s south side, in or near neighborhoods struggling with runaway gun violence.

Chicago does not have the worst crime rate in the nation, but owing to its large population — it’s the third-biggest US city — it has seen a staggering number of killings and shootings. By mid-July, there had been 1,557 shootings and 369 people murdered so far this year, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Gangs and the drug trade are behind most of the shootings, and they are indiscriminate.

Just this week, a 78-year-old man was wounded in one shooting, and a six-year-old girl and her four-year-old brother were wounded in another. All survived. “Things happen in the neighborhoods all the time,” said Shandrea Boyd, a 40-year-old physical therapist wearing a “Black Girls Rock” t-shirt.

Boyd said she wished she did not feel the need to carry a gun, but there were too many others who were armed, she said. “You see people shooting on expressways. You see people shooting everywhere. You just never know. So you’d better be prepared (rather) than unprepared,” she said.

Boyd planned to buy a gun with enough safety features that she would feel comfortable having it at home with her four-year-old child.

That will likely be an expensive proposition. Purchasing a gun can cost several hundred to thousands of dollars. A concealed gun permit in the state of Illinois costs another $150.

The process is not for those without means. But, for students like Rhonda Gary, the cost is worth it. “I get up before daylight and I live alone,” said the 51-year-old railroad worker. “I’ve been broken into before.”

Gary was also joining Dunagan’s gun club to get regular practice shooting with other women. “I think it will be a little bit of comfort,” she said. “A feeling of security.”